ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author distinguishes between states of disturbance in Time by the labels of “This year”, “Next year”, “Sometime”, and “Never”. Each position is marked by difficulty in the fundamental linking up of past, present, and future, in making connections that allow one to be firmly held in the time process and in surrendering to the flow of time. “This year” fantasies are often marked by the eruption of two or more dominant inner figures—or “forced masks”—in deadly warfare with each other. These figures or forced masks might include a clamorous, insatiable baby, some version of a harsh witch, plus “whoever” it is that is responsible for the patient’s turning up for his/her therapy session. The therapist must contend with the patient’s urge to resist and wreck each moment, to kill hope and the unborn future.
